It is time lads! Your mate is getting married and you know you need to give him the best send-off as possible, into the world of balls and chains, trouble and strife and all things husband related.

The most important factor of your mate’s stag is to make sure that people come. It sounds simple, obvious even, but actually have you thought it through? Everyone may be up for it, but consider the cost involved. Keep prices as low as possible on the basics, to lure loads of lads into turning up on the day.

Over the winter in some parts of the world, incorporating some football themed action into your weekend shouldn’t be very difficult at all. You can even make a full event of it and book a cheap Travelodge hotel near Stamford Bridge and Craven Cottage (ideal for Chelsea and Fulham fans, retrospectively), or a Trafford Travelodge up north, if your mate’s more of a Man U fan.

Sort the basics before you get involved in any in-depth planning activity planning! Making sure you have got your rooms secured and transport arranged is pretty much the foundation of whatever mayhem you get up to while you are away. There is no stag party without these little things.

Lads are generally easier to please than the lady-types. There is not necessarily any need to theme a stag party, apart from including a bit of sport, a bit of action and a bit of a tipple. The theme is stag, how you enhance that is up to you.

Speaking of which, tailor your weekend to include activities you know the stag will love. Whether it is motorsports, adrenaline junkie activities, paintballing, footie – whatever he’s into make it happen and make it epic. Who knows, it could be the last time the lads get together for a good while.

Look online for deals and discounts. “Be cheeky, a shy bairn gets nowt”, as the Geordie’s say, and it’s very true. Ask for group price cuts and try and get the stag in for free, for whatever you book. Little savings here and there can make a real difference to the overall cost of your break, making it more affordable for everyone involved.

Perhaps do what the missus says and book somewhere to grab a bit of grub. Eating probably isn’t on the forefront of anyone’s mind, unless the stag is a real foodie, but with so many of you expecting to dine at the same time, booking a table is advisable.

Add something a ‘little unuuuuusual’ to the events of the weekend. No, not Russell Brand, although it’s appreciated you noticed the reference. Think out of the box, while every stag can expect to go out hitting the bars and clubs until late, they might not expect starting the afternoon off with a brewery or distillery tour.

Finally, yes, you all love the guy, but he’s a stag and he has be the brunt of at least one or two ill-humoured jokes over the weekend. Speak with his “best buds” and pull some secrets out of the bag. Shipping him off abroad is never advisable.

Let’s get the party started! Book your cheap group accommodation online today, and get the transport sorted. It’s time boys, it’s time.

This is a sponsored post.

This should have been my first entry, I figured but I was in the mood to write my first post about Egypt a few days ago (see here). Anyway, before I go on mentioning the sights everyone should not miss when in Egypt (Cairo / Giza in particular), let me do a rundown on a few tips for you guys.

1. Two most important things I always pray for, every single night, are safety and good health. As Egypt currently is suffering from political unrest, it would be wise to check with the news and your own country’s bulletin regarding travel advice. I haven’t been able to follow the news about Egypt lately, so I do not quite understand why they just had an election because, if I remember it correctly, an election also happened late last year. Our tour had to be adjusted according to the schedule of the protests as these tend to get violent and unsafe. So, before travel, make sure to check on the safety for tourists.

Read the rest of this entry »

I believe we are lucky that these days, traveling no longer means breaking the bank. The airlines have gotten so competitive that the fares are at that level where almost all people can afford. In the spirit of utilizing every hard-earned cent, below are some tips I hope you find useful on how to save a little cash here and there when you’re planning a trip or actually on your little (or big) getaway.

1. Book your tickets early. That may not come as a shock to you but having said that, wait for seat sales at the same time. It can backfire when you book early during non-sale periods. Know the occurrence of these seat sales too (i.e. PAL’s midnight madness sale almost every weekend). Compare airline rates and list them down together with the flight schedules (I use MS Excel ). Know when is the peak time for the target destination as well because if you travel during those times, chances are hotel accommodations would be pricey. For some more tips on seat sale bookings, please refer here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Taiwan was not one of those countries I was itching to go to initially, but looking for a different nearby place to go to can get pretty limited and since it was pretty much easy to convince me to go to a place I haven’t been, then it was a go.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am not exactly the most knowledgeable person for this as there are people I have read about who booked way more (cheap) flights than I have but I would like to share some tips from experience.

1. Plan way ahead of time. And I mean WAY ahead, even if there has not been an announcement of a sale yet. If you and your friends have been wanting to go and have agreed to a destination, make sure you have an idea on when they will be free to travel so when the sale comes, and this might happen again during the wee hours of the night, you are ready to just hit “book now”. Do not forget to agree on a price cap as well.
2. Know your companions’ details. Whomever you are tagging along with you, make sure you know at least their full names and birth dates (passport name, for international travel). These will be required by the internet system for booking.
3. Register with Cebu Pacific (or any airline you are availing those cheap tickets from). This makes it easier when inputting passenger details because often, their system will store the details and will automatically input them to the fields needed to be filled out. Speed is important during seat sales because not unless they have charged you, your booking is not confirmed. Registering should save you some time.
4. In searching for the cheapest fares, look for the dates you prefer most first. Who knows those dates might still be available? If not and it happens that your travel is flexible, make sure to check Sunday-Wednesday departures and Wednesday-Saturday arrivals. You are bound to find cheap fares during those times.
5. While booking, pay very close attention to details. The dates and time of your travel in particular are very important. Know how many days you want to spend in the destination you are targeting and assess the flight schedule. Consider the travel time, travel schedule and time differences. I know how it feels, adrenalin pumping and heart beating fast, these might get in the way of your logical thinking. But learn to calm down and focus, you wouldn’t want to spend an entire week in a city meant to be visited for a few days just because you overlooked the dates, right?
6. When booking dirt cheap flights, there is no room for error (or little room). Make sure you type in the correct names (check the spelling) and birth dates as these may cost you some money (read: even more expensive than what you have to pay originally) to alter after finalizing your booking.
7. Weigh your options. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean you should take them. If it means you having to leave your responsibilities for x amount of days and you are coming back to a whirlwind of e-mails or you won’t be able to get paid because of skipping work or filing a vacation leave, then think about if it’s actually worth it.
8. Know that these tickets are often non-[insert everything possible travel booking actions here]. Hehe. They are usually non-rebookable, non-refundable, non-transferable, non-reroutable, etc. So make sure that you are all set before confirming your payment.

Of course fast and reliable internet connection is a big plus, especially if the site becomes congested. A lot of this also has something to do with luck, if you have in fact have gotten to the website before anyone else did. Then you have more possibility to book your preferred schedule at your preferred fare.

I hope I provided you with little tips that will help you in your future bookings. Do you have questions or perhaps more suggestions? Please let me know!

For the meantime, I’m crossing my fingers as I feel a sale coming up this Sunday (Independence Day). Hehe. Here’s to more future travels!